Father Dearest
by Mama May-Eye
Summary: What if Daisuke did adopt Monica like he threatened? How will the pair handle being father and daughter? What happens when criminals with a grudge against Daisuke find out about the adoption? Better keep those red-tab bullets handy.
1. Chapter 1

******Disclaimer:** Heat Guy J and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creator/owner.  
**Author Note:** This is always in my mind when I watch episode nine. Though, yes, Monica does get adopted in the end (in a way) I still can't help but think that Daisuke would've made a good father, too. Hence, "Father Dearest" is born. Enjoy and leave feedback!

**Chapter 1**

It had been a harrowing week for Monica, no doubt about it. Her mother had gotten so caught up in another fling with a man who would just leave her again. Pathetic. To make it worse, she started drinking more than ever and Monica had a feeling that her mom had been stealing money from her savings. Damn it, that savings was for food and camera film! She didn't have time to be worried about it being used to purchase more of her mother's addiction. To make matters even worse (Worser? Whatever it was.) her mom almost got kidnapped – _did_ get kidnapped – and sold for her identity. Almost killed, if Daisuke and his abnormally big friend hadn't shown up in time. That time on the dock when she thought she would never see her mother again was the scariest thing Monica had ever felt in her life. She supposed she had a lot to owe Daisuke for…not that she would tell him that. She had a reputation to maintain with him and she'd rather keep that relationship as it was.

Not that it wasn't effectively ruined now or anything. Having your friend suddenly become your father would certainly put a strain on any relationship pretty damn quickly.

See, it happened like this.

To sum it up, Monica was freakin' pissed when she saw Dais' threaten her mom with something horrible enough to make her _cry_. He had no right to make her cry after what she just went through. No one did! So after the skirmish with that jerk and their journey back to their "home", well…. The police had to be involved eventually, right? Turns out they found out about her mom's alcoholism and one cop (who had way too much hair, big lips, loud mouth…ugh) freaked out about it and enrolled her mom in some kind of rehab program against their will. Kids are only allowed to stay with family members during this time, apparently. Hence, speedy adoption in the form of, most likely, legal and illegal means and now she was be the official future ward of one Daisuke Aurora.

How embarrassing.

And the authorities even confiscated their wagon home. She barely had time to get everything important or meaningful out before they hauled it off to storage. Seriously, they never cared about her and her mother's living conditions before now. Why bother now?

The fact of the matter was that now Daisuke would be officially registered on her record as her _father_. It was way too weird. That lame-brain guy wasn't father material! He certainly wasn't the age for it, not in her opinion. Ignoring the fact that the situation itself was weird, his living space probably wasn't much better than hers! He was single, after all. She wasn't dumb enough to believe that he cared for dates and dressing up as much as her mother did, nor did she think he was paid well for whatever his job was. He probably lived like some messy teenager.

Sigh. She wished she had her wagon back. The only saving grace of this situation was that her mother would be well-cared for – they promised – and Parsley wasn't taken away. That last bit required some intervention from Dais' because she didn't posses any papers telling anyone that Parsley was legally her pet. Stupid law enforcement people and their dumber rules. Restrictions got her into this damn situation in the first place!

Monica huffed as she finished her internal rant (for the third time) and glanced grumpily to the person driving her. Edmundo was the officer's name and he was currently transporting her to Daisuke's work place to sign some final adoption papers – she wasn't allowed to stay with him until then, not that she cared either way. The beds at the foster care building were just _fine_. The police guy in front kept trying to get her to talk or something but she went with the "I'm too emotional to talk right now" excuse. Thankfully, it had been quieter since then. Thank _God_. This guy could talk some politicians to death if he wanted to. He also seemed to take personal interest in her, for whatever reason. Frankly, she could've done without it – it was this interest that made police focus on her mom and put her in rehabilitation when the both of them were _just fine_! It was understandable that this particular man wasn't her favorite person right now. So…he got glares every time he looked at her. It was the least she could do, after all.

Monica glanced up at the building they had cruised in front of, eventually coming to a stop. So this building was where Dais' worked? It was a pretty good size. Was this whole building related to Daisuke's work? Maybe he was well-off than she thought…. A voice from the front seat distracted her.

"Well, kid, we're here. Just a few floors up that building and we'll be signing those papers in no time." He looked back at her (receiving a glare for his efforts). "You ready or you wanna' wait here for a couple minutes? Adoption's not an easy thing to go through – I know."

Monica didn't appreciate his coddling her and she showed it by crawling past the child-locked doors, through the gap between seats, and pointedly opening the passenger door before slipping out and making her way to the building, leaving Edmundo behind to catch up.

Coddle her, will he? She hadn't needed coddling since she was five.

She kept up a brisk pace all the way to the building, Edmundo running ahead, trying to lecture her about traffic safety and other things she learned when she was _three_. She was glad this guy didn't try to adopt her instead. She could only imagine the horrors of lectures every hour of every day. Hopefully Daisuke would stay the same and not try to go all "daddy" on her. She was dealing with this adoption thing by holding onto that hope.

The lobby of the building, though big, wasn't very interesting, the elevator ride even more so. Monica crossed her arms in an attempt to look antisocial as she followed the police guy to Daisuke's office. She had lost count of how many doors they had passed, her nerves starting to get the better of her. What if this completely changed everything? What if allowing Daisuke to sign those papers would be the biggest mistake of her life? What if he wanted _her_ to change – to speak differently, properly, to give away Parsley, to forget her mom? She didn't allow her feelings to stop her from advancing toward her future, though the doubtful thoughts wouldn't leave her.

Finally they stopped in front of a rather boring door. Here we go.

Monica waited for the door to open in front of her. And waited. ...And waited. She gave Edmundo an annoyed look. It seemed he wanted her to be the one to open it. To make sure she was ready. Screw that – she wouldn't be ready for this if he gave her _days_ to open the door. She pushed passed him, nearly slamming the door back against the wall with the force of her hand.

Inside, Daisuke Aurora looked up and over to where she now stood. He seemed to be talking to the social worker leaning against some pink-haired woman's desk. Wow, this office was small. Was…? Ah, there he was. Daisuke's huge partner, standing there against the wall. He turned to her after a moment.

"Greetings, Monica and Inspector Edmundo."

"Yeah, whatever," the officer grumbled as he motioned to Daisuke. "Here she is. Is that all or can I go home now?"

Daisuke smiled, never phased by sarcastic attitudes – probably because he had one himself. "Thanks, Kenny. Always a pleasure to talk to you."

"Shut up." Edmundo turned to leave but not before throwing a, "Smart ass," over his shoulder and closing the door.

Now with the attention of the room's occupants on her, Monica straightened her back subconsciously. Daisuke gave her a smile.

"Hey, Mon'. How you holding up?"

Monica bit the inside of her lip, staring somewhere between the desk and Daisuke's leg. "As well as you can expect when your mom and home are taken away."

"Right. So it sucks." The blonde turned to the social worker opposite him. "This is Monica. Monica, this is miss Gerdey. She'll be overseeing the meeting. Is that cool with you?"

Monica shrugged, starting to feel annoyed at the "is-that/this-alright-with-you" questions. "I don't care either way." She walked toward Dais' and the other two women.

The one behind the desk tilted her head at Monica cheerfully. "Hello, Monica. It's nice to finally meet you. My name's Kyoko."

Monica nodded at her, not feeling up to pleasantries at the moment.

Miss Gerdey knelt down in front of her. She smelled like a barrel of soap and perfume. It made Monica feel sick.

"Monica, how are you feeling? Are you up to answering some questions? Maybe signing a few papers for me?"

Monica crossed her arms. "Lady, I'm ten years old, not five. I can do anything you ask me to – just get on with it, alright?"

The woman looked taken aback. Clearly she was new if Monica was the first child she heard speak like that in Judoh.

Daisuke let out a laugh. "Monica's made of stronger stuff than most kids, miss Gerdey. If she says she's fine, she usually is."

"O-Oh. Alright. Well…let's get started, shall we?" The woman straightened, attempting to regain her composure, and produced the necessary documents by laying them on Kyoko's desk.

Said pinkette spoke up. "Dais', do you want me to leave…?"

"That's not necessary," the social worker interrupted. "Witnesses are welcome. You may stay if you want. As long as the child in question is comfortable," she finished, glancing at Monica. Yeah, definitely new. She spoke like she recited a recent list of rules.

"I'm fine." Monica could not stop the aggravated exasperation from creeping into her voice.

"Alright. Sign here, mister Aurora."

"Okay."

It continued like this for some time, with Monica being asked the occasional personal question or so. She rarely had to sign her name to anything, the actual process focusing on the guardian. It was quite boring. The other two people in the room stayed silent the entire time – it was disconcerting, not that Monica let that get to her.

After what felt like hours later, the social worker began to pack.

"I believe that takes care of everything. We'll be sending someone in a few days to check up on her. And the adoption won't be finalized until later this week, but in the meantime..." She smiled at them. "Congratulations. You two are now officially father and daughter."

No one cheered, but, then again, the group had never been very flashy to begin with. Instead, Daisuke grinned and clapped Monica on the shoulder softly. Kyoko stood from her chair to congratulate them. Daisuke's partner started clapping slowly, which stood out in the small room, seeing as how no one else was. It was embarrassing to hear him do that and it made Monica blush at such obliviousness.

Her mother wouldn't be out of rehab until months later at the _earliest_.

What the hell was going to happen to her until then?

**TBC...**

Post Script - I took liberties with regulations of rehabilitation facilities and adoption agencies. Whatever, it's an alternate world.

Next chapter: Is Monica really as okay with adoption as she seems to be? What will Daisuke do about his sparse apartment room now that he has a child to look after? How will the two handle themselves when they get alone with one another now that their relationship has changed?

"You're a horrible person, Dais'! I wish _you'd_ got taken away instead of _my mom_!"


	2. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer:** Heat Guy J and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creator/owner.  
**Author Note:** Finally got around to writing the second chapter after so long. Well, not actually that long but it feels that way. Been focused on Hetalia fics. But I'll try to juggle the other series I hope to write for as well. Enjoy and leave feedback!

**Chapter 2**

Monica stayed silent on the way to Daisuke's apartment, hunching down in the passenger car of the blonde's vehicle. The helmet on her head was too big and nearly swallowed her nose. Small tufts of her hair flew away in the wind as the two sped down the streets of Judoh towards one of the less volatile residential areas. Daisuke had been quiet, too, perhaps sensing her mood, but he kept the easygoing smile he often adopted.

Pulling into the parking lot of the complex and parking, Monica hopped out, tossing the oversized helmet in the passenger seat before studying the apartment building in front of her. It was alright. Not classy by any standards, but one didn't come to Judoh for such things as "classy". At least it _looked_ safe. She turned as Daisuke got off his bike.

"Well, pass your standards, princess Mon'?" he asked teasingly having observed her observing the building.

Monica shrugged with arrogance. "'S'alright, I _guess_. I've seen better."

Daisuke laughed as he lead the way into the complex. "You're a hard person to please, you know that?"

"So I've heard."

Once they entered, Daisuke held the elevator door open for her before they began to ascend up. Monica wanted to tell him to stop treating her like some kind of girly child. But he'd treated other females like this as well – holding doors for them and other such things. She was having a hard time distinguishing if Daisuke was treating her out of the ordinary or not. She was trying her best to find any unusual behavior so she could call him out on it and prevent it in the future but so far he'd been…normal. It made her all the more suspicious to look for anything different. They encountered no one on their way to Daisuke's apartment. The inside was…wow. Dais' didn't care much for appearances, that was for sure. Monica could hardly see anything that represented Daisuke's likes. No posters, pictures, one bed, one small television on the _floor_…! Even Monica had her most favorite pictures put up on the wall of her wagon before they were forced out. To the side, she saw her meager bags of clothes and items she'd packed against the wall. She turned to Daisuke.

"_This_ is where you live?"

Daisuke, never one to be embarrassed or caught off guard easily, gave a sheepish smile. "Don't get paid enough to afford much more, Mon'. The Special Investigations bureau doesn't make enough as it is."

"But the building you work in is one of the best, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah. But we're just one branch among many; tax payers' money tends to go towards the other offices instead of ours."

Monica never thought of it like that. She figured Daisuke merely didn't care to afford anything more expensive out of laziness.

"Oh, so that's it…."

Daisuke brought his hand down on her head, rubbing it quickly back and forth and retreating before she could smack him away. "Don't worry about it. I got more than enough to take care of both of us."

Monica's scowl dropped off her face. "Will I…will I get to keep my photo booth?"

Daisuke, who had been heading towards Monica's things to begin distributing them, turned towards her curiously.

Monica backpedaled, suddenly feeling silly for even wanting to see that dumb wagon again. "Well, it's just-! I worked _so_ hard on it. To make it presentable. So I could make money. It's just…I put a lot of work into it. That's all."

Daisuke faced her completely with a face that grownups have when they're not sure what to say to children. Or they pity them.

"You know you don't have to work so hard anymore, Monica. I'll take on the money problems now, alright? Which aren't very many – I'm not exactly poor, no matter what you think my room represents," he ended with a teasing smile.

Monica's scowl was back in full force. "Don't pity me, Dais'!"

Daisuke backpedalled, holding up his hands in defense. "This isn't about pity – I know you can take care of yourself. I'm only saying you don't _have to_ anymore." He reached for Monica's bag but she swooped in front of him and held it to her chest.

"This has my underwear in it! Pervert!"

Daisuke laughed. "Then you take care of the unpacking. I'll leave you to it." He saluted her before heading to the adjoining room, a room she hadn't noticed before but from the sight beyond the open door contained a table with a computer, a gun, and a stack of papers. A work room, then.

Monica eyed him in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Just to take care of some things. Legal stuff. Be right back."

"Um…okay," she muttered in confusion as Daisuke gently shut the door. Having the room to herself now, Monica looked around freely. There really wasn't much here, though. She had never seen a room so bare before. Even her wagon had more stuff in it than Daisuke's apartment…and they were poor! Putting her unmentionables away, she walked to the window (sidestepping the television on the _floor_) overlooking a small part of the city. She could see many buildings in front of her but also the clear beautiful blue sky. If nothing else, at least this dump had a good view.

Seeing nothing more to do (she didn't want to actually touch any of Daisuke's stuff without permission, still feeling a little too much like a guest) she plopped onto the couch, waiting.

And waiting.

…Jeez, what was taking him so long? She was getting hungry! Doesn't he know not to keep a lady waiting?

Monica hopped from the couch and stalked to the door. Raising her fist to knock, her nosey side took hold of her and instead she gently turned the doorknob, easing the door open a centimeter so she could hear if it was anything important. Or illegal. Would serve Daisuke right for helping to put them in this situation if he was in trouble. Jerk. Words floated toward her, halting her thoughts.

"Yeah, I got it covered. …Yeah, mostly. No, it wasn't too bad; on the contrary, it was pretty easy."

Monica sighed quietly in boredom. This wasn't interesting at all. How plain. She began to edge the door close.

"Yeah, well, you know, I've had those adoption papers since forever. Just in case something like this happened. Heh! Nice to finally put them to use."

Daisuke continued to speak into the phone but Monica didn't catch any of it, too frozen with shock. Daisuke foresaw this happening? He…_planned_ this? _He_ was the reason the police separated her family? No!

With fury driving her, she burst the door wide open, startling Daisuke.

"Mon'! What-?"

"Shut up!" She ran up to his legs (the highest she could reach) and kicked him as hard as she could. "You're a horrible person, Dais'! I wish _you'd_ got taken away instead of _my mom_!" Bitter tears began to gather around her eyes and she hurriedly ran out of the room and into Daisuke's. Angrily, she started to unpack, jerking open drawers and forcing a blur of clothes into her bags.

"Monica, stop!" Daisuke yelled as he dropped beside her trying to catch her upset hands.

"No! Don't touch me! I hate you!"

"No, you don't! Talk to me," he demanded, finally grabbing hold of her, preventing her from unpacking any more.

Monica refused to look at him, furious and emotionally hurt, though the fight had drained from her. Daisuke, upon noticing this, gently released her hands and settled back on his haunches.

"Now tell me what's wrong. What'd I do this time?"

Monica glared at the floor. She didn't want to be here anymore. She was hurt. Very hurt. Daisuke was one of the few people she could trust in the world. To think that he was gunning for her family since before this incident…. Her voice shook as she spoke, trying to keep angry tears from falling. "You're a liar. You don't care if my mom gets better. You told that person on the phone that you had adoption papers before all this started." She looked Daisuke in the eyes, unable to prevent her own from finally spilling over as her voice cracked. "Why did you break our family apart?" A sob escaped her and she quickly put her hands to her mouth to stifle more. Her efforts were in vain as the events from the past few days caught up with her and her emotions spilled over as fast as her tears. She thought of her mom and how scared she was at never seeing her again. She thought of never seeing Parsley. She thought of how much her life had changed in so little time. It was too much to take in. Monica sobbed louder as she covered her face in embarrassment at how she couldn't remain strong anymore in front of the adult before her.

She felt arms encircle her and bring her slowly to a chest. Though she hated him right now, she desperately wanted comfort even if she would never admit it. She sagged against him until her emotions calmed down. They stayed kneeling on the floor for…Monica didn't know how long, but her knees were starting to hurt. Sniffing, she moved back slowly, eyes on the ground.

Daisuke sighed. "Monica. What you heard in the other room was taken out of context. You know I'd never be that cold-hearted…right?"

Monica didn't say, unsure of the right answer, though her heart told her the Daisuke she knew wasn't the type of person to betray her like that.

He continued. "I've been keeping an eye on you and your mom because I always get worried with you both out there living…the way you both do. I had the adoption papers drawn up a few weeks ago in case something like this ever happened; you'd both be taken care of – safe. I didn't make the cops take your mom away from you. And you know she's only gonna get better now."

Monica shrugged halfheartedly. "…I guess…." Her mom couldn't get any _worse_.

"I didn't adopt you because I wanted to 'collect' you or get rid of your mother. I adopted you because I care about what happens to you." He petted her hair, smiling now, meeting her eyes. "You're a good kid, Mon'. You deserve a good life…don't you think?"

Monica took his hand off her hair but without anger. "I guess," she repeated. She felt silly and unsure now, though she didn't know why. "But you saying that…it's like saying my mom wasn't a good parent. But-! But she was. I've seen a lot worse! She wasn't so bad, she loves me."

"I know, I know. I never said she didn't. She did her best. But now she needs help that can only be provided by someone else. …And so do you." He stood, helping her up as well and gave her hair a last pet. "I know it feels weird that I adopted you. That's fine; I understand. I won't make you call me 'dad' or anything. But you gotta' at least trust me some while we're living here together. Can you do that for me?"

Monica snorted, feeling like her old self again and quickly disliking this…'lovey-dovey' Daisuke. "Yeah, sure. Fine. Whatever."

"Haha! There's the girl I know. If that's that, then I'm gonna' go call back my friend. Hung up on him so fast, he's gonna' wonder what happened," he said as he walked towards the door, scratching the back of his head. "Oh. And we'll order takeout for dinner if that's alright with you?"

Monica tilted her head nonchalantly She could basically eat anything. You tend to get that way if you were poor and lived in Judoh. Life was too short to be picky. "It's fine with me. So long as it gets here soon."

Daisuke waved. "Will do. And while I'm calling that in," he turned to give her a mischievous grin, "you can take care of your unpacking again. Wouldn't want the delivery guy to see those white frilly panties, now would we?"

Monica froze. Turning to see what Daisuke meant, she saw her bag half open with quite a few pairs of underwear on top of it, laying there for all the world to see. She spun around in offense ready to tell that stupid pervert off just as the door closed quickly and firmly. Coward!

"Damn lecher! Keep your peepers off my underwear, you dirty old man!"

She threw one of her shoes at the door over the sound of Daisuke's chuckles.

**TBC...**

Post Script - Oh! I forgot to mention: don't worry about any romance. _Heat Guy J_ is not big on romance so I won't be either. I was worried people might think Daisuke and Monica's mother...*shudder*

Next chapter: A new day and a trip back to Daisuke's work brings new surprises for our father-daughter duo.

"Daisuke. What is this I hear about an adoption?"  
"Oh. Hey, Shun. Nice to finally see you this week."


End file.
